Low insertion force electrical connectors for making electrical connection between printed circuit boards are well known in the industry. Examples of these types of connector are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,795,888 3,848,952; 3,920,303; 4,136,917; 4,185,882; 4,575,172. The connectors disclosed in these patents are of the type which have a pair of spring contacts which allow insertion of printed circuit boards into contact areas of the connectors under low insertion force conditions.
The prior art connectors in general, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,172 in particular, have been able to provide a low insertion force connection in many instances. However, the prior art lacks the ability to provide a positive wiping action to ensure a positive electrical connection when a film has built up on either the printed circuit board or the contacts or both.
The contacts of the prior art connectors also have a steep force/deflection curve. Thus, the spring contacts can take a permanent set as the contacts are displaced only a small amount. Therefore, the contacts will take a permanent set after a wide daughter board has been inserted into the connector. This permanent set of the contacts makes the connector ineffective when a relatively narrow board is subsequently inserted. The contacts do not make electrical connection with the contact areas of the daughter board resulting in an unreliable and ineffective electrical connection between the daughter board and the contacts of the connector, rendering the connector effectively useless.
Another problem with the contacts disclosed in the above listed patents is that although the contact itself uses little material, the support means for the contact, i.e. the retaining means requires a relatively large amount of material. Therefore, connecting the contact to the housing in the manner described in the prior art increases the amount of material required to manufacture the contact assembly. Thus, not only has the reliability of the connection presented problems, the price of the connector has also been kept relatively high because of the material needed for manufacture.